In case you missed it, the Associated Press (AP) released its annual preseason All-America men’s basketball team last Monday. A 55-member national media panel voted for this squad. While some of the names on this list, like Mark Sears of Alabama and RJ Davis of North Carolina, make sense, considering they are seniors and are not only coming off excellent offensive campaigns but have actively contributed to game-winning plays for their respective programs. However, a quick glance at this list also reveals a lingering question in the minds of many: where is Alex Karaban? After all, the Massachusetts native is coming off an excellent offensive campaign with the back-to-back national champions, the UConn Huskies. Despite not being the first offensive option in arguably the greatest team in college basketball history, Karaban was a significant point of success on last year’s team, and it’s hard to see Connecticut play well without his contributions. In this week’s edition of Sargeant’s Orders, I decided to go around during Big East Media Day and check in with Karaban, among others, to see what led to this decision, and help make the case that the AP voters missed the most complete power forward in college basketball.
While many around the conference noted that this decision was simply a byproduct of the sport’s politics, opposing coaches and those from UConn had nothing but positive things to say about Karaban and the player he is.
“He’s versatile; he’s one of the best players in the country; he’s a back-to-back national champion. He’s a winner,” Georgetown second- year head coach Ed Cooley told media personnel. Teammates Hassan Diarra and Samson Johnson echoed Cooley’s message last Monday.
“[Karaban], he’s a champion. He’s a great player; he’ll probably end up being one of the all-time great UConn players ever. He’s going to prove to the country why he is who he is,” Diarra noted.
Johnson put it even more bluntly saying, “I feel like he’s going to prove a lot of people wrong this year.”
A season ago, Karaban averaged over 13 points and five boards per night in 31 minutes of work. While these stats alone aren’t “All-America worthy” per se, looking beyond the raw averages tells a different story. Not only was the redshirt junior an efficient scorer, converting nearly 50 percent of his tries, but he wasn’t the first scoring option on last year’s team either. Both Tristen Newton and Cam Spencer shot the rock more than him. Not to mention, if Donovan Clingan and Stephon Castle had been in robust condition last season, the Massachusetts native would have attempted the least number of shots among the Huskies’ five starters.
Some, such as St. Johns head coach Rick Pitino, believe that factors beyond Karaban’s control led to his “snubbing.” Pitino thinks that the state of how the national media functions, in trying to cause a stir by not picking the best players, has to do with no Big East player getting an All-America bid. The Johnnie head coach believes that he, in fact, has a player worthy of such an honor and makes a case parallel to that of Karaban.
“I think ESPN makes a living, all day long, by talking about rankings and things of that nature. Who’s the best, who should get fired. That’s the whole nature of the business, Pitino said at Big East Media Day. “I got the best player in the country, [Kadary Richmond], sitting to my left.”
Another reason for this snub could be just a fundamental flaw in how we pick these awards. After all, the appearance of this being a conference issue and out of Karaban’s control is a strong possibility. Just consider last season. Newton was nowhere near the preseason AP All-America team, not receiving a single vote. However, the national media changed their tune during tournament time, as the Indiana Pacer guard not only finished as an All-American but was also the second-best player in the country, according to KenPom, behind Purdue’s Zach Edey. Cooley echoed this sentiment on Monday that the way the “preseason superlatives” function hurts the sport and is fundamentally flawed.
“I think when it’s all said and done, last time I checked, we have the national champions. We have some really good players. I think [the Big East] [has] three lottery picks; it will play out in the end,” Cooley mentioned.
The Georgetown head coach also cited a case analogous to Karaban’s All-America voting process, noting that an overhaul of how teams are ranked is also needed.
“You’ve had teams being ranked number one, two, three in the country that don’t make the tournament. Many of these schools are ranked off of name, many of these schools are ranked off possibilities. I think you’re doing the sport a disservice ranking these teams early,” Cooley lamented. “There will be 10 or 12 surprise teams in the country, that nobody sees coming, “like wow. No shit.”
Maybe the qualifications for being an All-American have changed. After all, with NIL, the transfer portal and the marketization of college sports, the game we all love is completely different than it was years ago. Whether that is a good or bad thing is beyond the scope of this article, although UConn head coach Dan Hurley believes that how “marketable” a player makes himself trumps merit alone.
“[Karaban] does a shitty job of drawing attention to himself, besides winning championships and accomplishing what he has accomplished in his career,” Hurley told Big East media. “If he did more TikToks and he did more things to draw attention himself, he would have solidified his preseason All-American status with the AP.” Adding that, “You’re rewarding the wrong things if you don’t reward a back-to-back champion, two-year starter, one of the best players in the Big East,” noting that. “We are valuing people that are social media creations. We don’t value champions and people that go about their business in the right way, but that’s probably a societal issue.”
While the truth of Karaban being left off the Preseason All-America squad will never be known, the redshirt junior noted that it’s business as usual with him.
“It’s motivation. It’s not my main priority right now; my main priority right now is just making sure the guys are ready for this season,” Karaban said. “I know I’ll get to that point where I’ll be playing at an All-America level, and that’s what the team needs me to do this year, so I’m going to do that,” adding, “Once again, once when the season ends, and we see those awards, then it will be a testimony to how much hard work I’ve put in. At the same time, I would rather win three [national championships] than be an All-American.”
Karaban also embraces this underdog persona, noting that he has always been overlooked throughout all levels of the game and that proving the doubters wrong is nothing new.
“The people in basketball that truly know the game truly appreciate who I am as a player. So, that will never change, but at the same, I want to continue to prove everyone wrong, and that’s what’s going to happen this year.” Karaban said.
Karaban’s absence from the All-America list raises questions about the validity of this measure and whether preseason conjecture has any bearing on the regular season; spoiler alert, it doesn’t. If anything, Karaban’s vacancy from this list could be the best thing for Connecticut’s upcoming campaign. The doubters of UConn basketball have reared their heads. Karaban and the program are taking this news on the chin and are looking to prove everyone wrong for the third season in a row.